Set and Defining Your Health Goals

The first step to starting a leaner, healthier lifestyle is to set and write down what you want to achieve. Why is this so important? Your goals give you something concrete to aim for—they set your intention. If your focus is on achieving certain goals, and your actions correspond to them, you will achieve those goals. What you place your focus upon, you will achieve . There are 6 keys to effective goal setting.

Key #1: Define Specific Goals

The first step is to define your goals. What do you want to achieve? Do you want to change how you look, how you feel, or improve your overall health? Most of us would choose all three. You will improve your chances of success if you limit your goals to three well-defined targets. The more focused you are, the more successful you will be. List your goals under these three headings, and then pick the top 3. Choose the goals that most clearly define what you are trying to achieve.

Under the category “I WANT TO CHANGE HOW I LOOK” consider these goals:

LOSE WEIGHT : Be specific. The goal here is to lose fat weight, not total weight. Be sure that you set a reasonable goal. Find out your body fat percentage and base your target goal weight on your true ideal weight.

TONE MY BODY/IMPROVE MY OVERALL APPEARANCE. As we age, gravity seems to gain a stronger hold on our body. Stress, a higher fat diet, and a more sedentary lifestyle result negative physical changes. A proper diet and appropriate exercise can restore your youthful shape.

INCREASE MY STRENGTH/INCREASE MY WEIGHT. While most people have strength sufficient to meet their daily needs, you may wish more strength or muscle size for sport performance or to improve your appearance. Your aim is to gain muscle weight, not just total weight.

Under the category “I WANT TO CHANGE HOW I FEEL” consider these goals.

INCREASE AND SUSTAIN MY ENERGY LEVEL. Are you tired of feeling tired? You should expect to feel energetic all of your life. If you feel tired often, it may be the result of your lifestyle, not your age. A diet change and proper exercise will energize you permanently.

BECOME MORE MENTALLY ALERT. A high fat, high sugar diet and inactivity can leave you feeling mentally dull.

REDUCE AND MANAGE MY STRESS. How we manage the stressors in our life depends on our attitude toward these stressors. What you eat, and your activity level, dramatically affects your attitude. You can effectively release and manage stress through your lifestyle choices.

MANAGE MY MOOD SWINGS. Moodiness can be caused or exaggerated by what we eat and drink. A major step in calming down is cleaning up our lifestyles.

MPROVE MY EATING HABITS. We can all benefit by becoming better food managers. We can improve how we look, feel, and how long we live. Mothers and wives especially can make a strong positive impact by learning proper nutrition and passing this on to their families.

Under the category “I WANT TO IMPROVE MY HEALTH HABITS” consider these goals:

STOP SMOKING. Enough has been said by the Surgeon General about the negative effects of smoking. Smoking can kill you and those around you. Don't do it!

INCREASE MY CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS LEVEL. A strong heart and lung (cardiorespiratory) system means increased stamina and endurance. Cardiorespiratory fitness is an important factor in improving your performance in sports. But it also means a reduced risk of heart disease and more energy on a day-to-day basis. Increasing your heart strength will improve your performance at work or play, in the office or on the playground.

LOWER MY CHOLESTEROL. It has been clearly demonstrated that a low total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratio indicates a lower heart disease risk. Lowering your total cholesterol and increasing your HDL cholesterol can be accomplished with a balanced diet and exercise program. Drug therapy should be your last resort.

LOWER MY BLOOD PRESSURE. Changing your eating and exercise habits can lower your blood pressure.

LIVE LONGER/IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF MY LIFE. Most of the major killers today are lifestyle, "degenerative" diseases rather than infectious diseases. What we don't know is killing us. You can make a difference in how long you live and how well you live.

IMPROVE MY HEALTH HABITS. There are many small health habits that make up a healthy lifestyle: flossing, daily cleansing, adequate sleep or rest, brushing your hair, clipping and cleaning your nails, cleaning your glasses or contacts, drinking enough water, etc.

Key #2: Quantify Your Goals

Lifestyle changes are made more successfully, when they can be measured. It will be difficult to determine when you have succeeded with your program unless you have an objective way to measure your progress. Feeling better is a relative thing. Unless you establish a measure of where you are and what you would like to achieve, it may be hard to know when you get there. As you begin to feel better, you may simply, unconsciously, set higher goals.

There are 3 ways to measure progress.

• Objective Measure
• Objective Acknowledgment
• Subjective Rating

OBJECTIVE MEASURE: Some goals are easily quantifiable. Your weight is easily measured with a scale. The size of your hips can be accounted for with a tape measure or a pair of tight jeans. Your blood pressure or your cholesterol level can be directly measured by your physician. If your goal falls in this category, be sure to immediately get a "baseline measure"—a starting point measure. Then check your progress on a regular basis. Be sure to record everything in your EnergyFirst Success Journal .

OBJECTIVE ACKNOWLEDGMENT : Some goals involve activities that you either do, or not. For instance, you may wish to avoid eating sugar or salt. You may wish to increase your green vegetable intake. These goals can be easily accounted for by creating a log and recording each day whether you did them or not. You can give yourself more encouragement by rating how well you did it. (see Subjective Rating) You may have gone all day without sugar, but had a small amount at one meal. Instead of just checking that you failed in your goal, you might give yourself a rating from 1 to 1 0 on how well you kept to your goal. Eating a small amount might be an "8".

SUBJECTIVE MEASURE: Some goals are difficult to measure. You may wish to improve your energy level, or your mood. If your goal is like this, a subjective measure is best. Create a rating from 1 to 10 and rate each day. You can use this strategy in evaluating how well you are following your diet plan as well (See Objective Acknowledgment).

Key # 3: Set a Timetable for Your Goals

It is essential that you set a specific time frame within which to achieve each of your goals. “ Goals are dreams with deadlines.” Napolean Hill.

Key #4: Set Goals that are Realistic and Achievable

Base your goals and the time frame you set to reach those goals on reasonable expectations, so you do not over promise and under deliver. It is more effective to set yourself several mini-goals with short deadlines rather than setting one big goal with a long deadline. Base your goals on what you can reasonably expect to achieve on the program, as discussed earlier.

Key #5 Have a Factor of Accountability

It helps to choose someone to be your mentor and motivate you to achieve your goals. Ask them to help you be accountable for your action steps in achieving your goals.

Key #6 Your Goals Must Have a Positive Purpose

Why do you want to achieve your goal? What have you got to gain? Think 3 or 6 months down the track, and decide how you would like to look or feel, and what you would like to achieve by that time. Do you have an upcoming high school reunion you want to look great at. Or do you want to be more productive and effective so you can get that promotion you have been seeking? Or, are you at risk of disease, and want to eliminate or reduce that risk? Ensure your goal is about YOU and not for someone else's benefit. Look at the programming you may have around how you feel about yourself, especially your body, and set goals aimed at breaking those negative thought patterns.

Examples of Effective Goals:

I will lose 2 inches off my hips and thighs by May 1, 2002 so I can fit into my size 6 dress for my high school reunion.

Six months from now, I will reduce my body fat percentage by 10% and improve my endurance indicated by a 10 beats per minute decrease in my resting heart rate, so I can be more competitive in my upcoming marathon.

90 days from now I will lower my total cholesterol to 180-200 so I can reduce my risk of heart disease, and improve my quality of life.

Take a few moments to decide what you really want to achieve and why, and record your goals on the Goal Setting Sheet . Post this sheet in clear view (in your bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, and office) for a constant reminder of what you are aiming for.